Reminder About The Dangers Of Fireworks

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) – If you want to see fireworks this holiday, it’s best to head to a community display rather than celebrating in your backyard.

The numbers are staggering. More than 8,000 people a year across the country are treated in emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries, most of those in the two weeks before and two weeks after the Fourth of July.

The Burn Foundation is reminding area residents about the dangers of detonating fireworks.

“The two main things that can happen are that you can start a fire either on yourself or on some dry patch of land,” says Scott Cohen, the Director of Prevention Education. “And the second thing is that you can get a concussive injury. A firework can actually have the force to blow off a finger or a limb.”

Keep in mind that Pennsylvania law only allows sparklers, sparkler fountains and smoke bombs — nothing that explodes or propels itself. Sparklers may look pretty to young children, but burn at between 1,000 and 1,800 degrees.

Top Content On CBSPhilly

Brad Segall is midday anchor for KYW Newsradio 1060.
A longtime presence in Philadelphia radio news, Segall served for a decade as KYW Newsradio's suburban bureau chief.
He won the 2006 Associated Press Sandy Starobin Award for Individual...